Unchained Melody Righteous Brothers

Flashbacks founder loved music, performing

Don Trullender's strong, smooth voice drew standing ovations every time he sang the Righteous Brothers' ballad "Unchained Melody."

"He was a good rhythm guitar, a good saxophone player, but his voice would give you goose bumps," said Ed Kissell, who played alongside Trullender for 11 years as part of the Fabulous Flashbacks.

Trullender, 75, died early Sunday morning at Altoona Regional Health System.

He was a founding member of the Fabulous Flashbacks, an Altoona-based rock 'n' roll band dedicated to playing music from the '50s to the early '70s.

Kissell performed his last show with Trullender two weeks ago at a firefighters' festival in Three Springs.

Trullender was the only founding member to perform with the band since its formation in 1987.

"I wondered how he could put up with going through the same routine with new people over and over, but he never complained," Kissell said. "He was a big teddy bear to me. He never said anything bad to anybody."

Throughout his career with the six-member band, Trullender performed at reunions, festivals and in front of thousands as an opening act for bands including Chubby Checker at Mansion Park in 1989.

"It didn't matter if it was a bad crowd or a bad playing night," Kissell said. "He always had a smile on his face. He was there to please the people."

In the months that followed, Trullender frequently traveled to Pittsburgh for medical treatment, but he never stopped singing. Although he had health problems for the past couple of years, his passion for music was lifelong.

Kissell learned two years ago how dedicated to his music Trullender was. After Trullender underwent open heart surgery, he was back a month later, playing rhythm guitar, saxophone and singing "Unchained Melody."

Kissell will miss those goose bumps.

A memorial service to celebrate Trullender's life will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at First Church of Christ, 113 Good Shepherd Road, Altoona. Memorial contributions may be made to Blair County American Cancer Society.

Mirror Staff Writer Russ O'Reilly is at 946-7435.

Trullender also worked part-time for the Altoona Mirror's customer service department, where he became known as "Mr. Fix-it" for the way he dealt with upset customers. Trullender would personally deliver papers to subscribers whose newspapers arrived torn or were not delivered at all.

"He was a joy to be around," Mirror Circulation Manager Dan Slep said. "He never complained, and he always had a joke to tell.

My Melodies: Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers

In 1955, North used the music as a theme for the prison film Unchained, hence the name. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. Les Baxter (Capitol Records catalog number 3055), released an instrumental version which reached #2. Then song recordings were released by Al Hibbler (Decca Records #29441) reaching #3 on the Billboard charts, Jimmy Young which hit #1 in the United Kingdom, and Roy Hamilton (Epic Records no. 9102) reaching #1 on the R&B Best Sellers list and #6 on the pop chart. Hundreds of other recordings followed. In 1955, Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret were contracted to write a song as a theme for the obscure prison film Unchained, and their song eventually became known as the "Unchained Melody". The song doesn't actually include the word "unchained", and songwriter Zaret chose instead to focus his lyrics on someone who pines for a lover he hasn't seen in a "long, lonely time". The 1955 film centers around a man who contemplates either escaping from prison, to live life on the run, or completing his sentence and returning to his wife and family.

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